An RPG all about worldbuilding
A review of Mappa Mundi
This article contains affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you make purchases using these links, at no cost to you.An RPG about exploring a fantasy world and cataloging the creatures of its many biomes? That’s what Mappa Mundi is setting out to deliver (coming to Kickstarter soon). Does it? ~stick around to the end for a link to the PWYW quickstart guide~
This is a read review. Three Sails Studios provided me a digital preview of this game. This is not a commissioned review, all opinions are honest and my own.
Overview
Mappa Mundi is set in a fantasy world where an ecological catastrophe called ‘the Flux’ prevented travel for centuries (reminds me of Forbidden Lands in a weird way). The Flux has receded, but knowledge of geography, flora, and fauna has been lost (or is at least seriously out of date).
Players in this game are ‘Chroniclers’, led by a ‘Narrator’ (GM), who take on assignments to catalogue a subject of interest (often a creature of some kind) to rebuild or re-establish knowledge of the world.
Themes
This game is a love letter to worldbuilding and exploration. The book is about evoking a sense of wonder, focused on the natural world. There’s also an angle of discovering the culture of other places, which has been dealt with delicately.
You won’t find combat in Mappa Mundi (a design space I’ve explored before with my own game Void Above). It’s made a firm choice to focus on exploration and the process of documenting a world that wants exploring. And I applaud it for that!
The attitude of the book is also one of collaboration. Chroniclers are able to freely add details to environments, provided it is in keeping with what’s already been established by the Narrator and fellow Chroniclers. The book even encourages players to use this to overcome obstacles. You say the rock face is rugged → it has handholds you can climb.
This is perfect for a group where you want to worldbuild collaboratively through the lens of character stories. If your table enjoys worldbuilding and wants to do it together whilst going on a journey, this game is for you.
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In our last Premium issue, I talked about resource management design, wrote a jungle trail scene, and gave readers a d6 table of nasty poisons.
Design
The system is using ‘beat a GM set target number’ core resolution, with step dice for its four core stats. That’s reasonably simple, but the amount of ‘skills’ (like talents or feats) that Chroniclers can select makes the game feel pretty crunchy. It reminds me of Year Zero Engine step dice games like Blade Runner.
In all honesty though, I think the system isn’t necessarily what you are here for. It’s the huge compendium (140+ pages) of regions, cultures, creatures, and deck of exploration cards (a deck of natural locations) to fuel the entire table’s imagination.
Mappa Mundi is giving you a truck load of world inspo, then telling your table to go tell a story about discovering it whilst giving everything your own unique spin.
Look
The art in this book is off the chain. It conveys wonder and awe consistently.
The exploration cards are designed so an upright one represents a hospitable environment, and the reverse a more challenging one. The duality of the cards is mesmerising.
The layout is less my lane. It feels like a more traditional rpg layout, reminding me of Call of Cthulhu or other Chaosium products (like Pendragon).
That said, I can understand the motivation for this layout, it evokes the feeling of an old chronicler’s journal. Plus, if you prefer a more traditional layout, you’ll like it!
Conclusion
Mappa Mundi delivers on it’s goal. George and the team have made a game that engineers collaborative discovery and worldbuilding in a wonderous fantasy setting. Check out the Kickstarter page, and get the quickstart guide here.
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I would love to know more about your experience with the setting compendium. An example of what you can derive from it would go a long way.
Is this a book about worldbuilding or a Setting gazetteer instead? When I think about worldbuilding I think about tools that help the reader build their own world